“We Will Rock You” — the rock theatrical from QUEEN and Ben Elton — will help schools across the U.S. and Canada stage amateur productions of the award-winning, record-breaking show, whose first North American tour kicks off at Baltimore’s historic Hippodrome Theatre on October 15. “Schools Will Rock You” will allow students to put on their own version of the musical — which features 24 of QUEEN‘s biggest hits — with guidance and tools from the creators of “We Will Rock You”.

Now in its 12th year in London, “We Will Rock You” has sold more than 15 million tickets worldwide. “Schools Will Rock You” has been similarly successful, as thousands of schools in the U.K. have staged the production since 2006. The introduction of the program in the U.S. marks the first time schools will be able to put on the theatrical in advance of the professional production’s appearance in their respective cities (U.K. schools have had to wait up to several years).

In North America, “Schools Will Rock You” will provide schools with the tour script, score and production support (plus the opportunity to buy full backing tracks), giving students the chance to perform QUEEN anthems like “Another One Bites The Dust”, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “We Are The Champions”, “Bohemian Rhapsody” and, of course, “We Will Rock You”, while learning all aspects of mounting a stage production along the way. The school productions are limited to non-professionals up to the age of 18.

“Schools Will Rock You” has the full support of QUEEN‘s Brian May and Roger Taylor.

“We are thrilled you are looking at ‘We Will Rock You’ as a school production,” says May. “It was a blast to put the show together in the first place and we have been running for 11 years in London. We hope you will have a blast doing it for your school.”

“We Will Rock You” is the ninth longest-running show in London’s West End and was crowned the U.K.’s favorite show at the 2011 Olivier Awards, the U.K. equivalent of the Tony Awards. The production’s North American launch currently includes stops in 26 cities, with more dates to be announced soon.

Opeth mainman Mikael Åkerfeldt has offered an update on the progress of the Swedish titans’ follow-up to supremely proggy 2011 opus, Heritage.

“We’ve been looking at Rockfield Studios in Wales where Queen recorded Bohemian Rhapsody, but we haven’t made a decision yet,” Åkerfeldt tells Expressen. “But it will be an expensive album. There’s a lot going on, lots of string arrangements that we haven’t had in the past.

“Will it be heavier than Heritage? Maybe a little bit heavier,” Mikael adds. “Not death metal heavy, but hard rock/heavy metal heavy. There’s also lots of progressive elements and acoustic guitars, but also more sinister-sounding riffs.”

This coming Friday, September 6, Swedish progressive metallers OPETH will set sail on Melloboat 2013, a two-day cruise between Stockholm, Sweden and Riga, Latvia featuring performances by a number of progressive cult bands and heavy hitters, including Morgan Ågren (featuring a guest appearance by Devin Townsend), SAGA (Sweden), CRESSIDA, ICECROSS, TRETTIOÅRIGA KRIGET, ÄNGLAGÅRD, PANTA REI 2.0 and BADGE. The cruise will mark OPETH‘s very last show in support of the band’s latest album, “Heritage”, which came out in 2011. The group will spend the remaining months of 2013 putting the finishing touches on the writing and recording process for its next studio effort, which will be released sometime next spring.

According to OPETH frontman Mikael Åkerfeldt, four songs have already been written for the upcoming CD and three others are in various states of completion.

“We’ve been looking at [tracking the next album at] Rockfield Studios in Wales where QUEEN recorded ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, but we haven’t made a decision yet,” Åkerfeldt tells the Swedish newspaper Expressen. “But it will be an expensive album. There’s a lot going on, lots of string arrangements that we haven’t had in the past.”

Will it be heavier or softer than “Heritage”?

“Maybe a little bit heavier,” Mikael says. “Not death metal heavy, but hard rock/heavy metal heavy. There’s also lots of progressive elements and acoustic guitars, but also more sinister-sounding riffs.”

Who’s producing?

“I am,” Mikael says. “I love the way DIO‘s ‘Holy Diver’ sounds, this early-’80s sound where you can still hear the ’70s, but the production is heavier. Right now I’m into having a similar production that isn’t retro but it still sounds like real instruments and it’s heavier than ‘Heritage’.”

“Heritage” sold 19,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 19 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band’s previous studio CD, 2008’s “Watershed”, opened with more than 19,000 units to land at No. 23.

The Sunflower Superjam 2012 was a once-in-a-lifetime event that you can now experience with the release of the DVD, due on September 16. On stage together for the only time, you can watch Alice Cooper, Brian May (QUEEN), Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN), John Paul Jones (LED ZEPPELIN), Ian Paice (DEEP PURPLE), Mark King, Alfie Boe and a host of other exceptional musicians “jam” at the Royal Albert Hall, making the iconic London venue rock like never before. Plus, enjoy the Sunflower Superjam 2011 on the bonus disc with performances from DEEP PURPLE, Rick Wakeman, Joe Bonamassa, Newton Faulkner and including the last live performance from the legendary Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE). Produced by The Sunflower Jam charity, all monies raised will go directly to supporting the research and application of holistic and non-toxic treatments for children and young adults suffering from cancer.

The Sunflower Superjam 2012 was a once-in-a-lifetime event that you can now experience with the release of the DVD, due on September 16. On stage together for the only time, you can watch Alice Cooper, Brian May (QUEEN), Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN), John Paul Jones (LED ZEPPELIN), Ian Paice (DEEP PURPLE), Mark King, Alfie Boe and a host of other exceptional musicians “jam” at the Royal Albert Hall, making the iconic London venue rock like never before. Plus, enjoy the Sunflower Superjam 2011 on the bonus disc with performances from DEEP PURPLE, Rick Wakeman, Joe Bonamassa, Newton Faulkner and including the last live performance from the legendary Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE). Produced by The Sunflower Jam charity, all monies raised will go directly to supporting the research and application of holistic and non-toxic treatments for children and young adults suffering from cancer.

On September 3, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release “The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert” on a triple DVD set, as an SD Blu-ray — with upscaled standard definition original material with uncompressed stereo and DTS-HD surround sound for the best possible quality — and digital. This release boasts newly remastered sound across both sections of the concert and represents the first time the opening acts’ performances have been made available on DVD or Blu-ray.

Check out a trailer for the set below.

On April 20, 1992, Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon, the surviving members of QUEEN, took to the stage at Wembley Stadium for the start of one of the biggest events in rock history, which the band had organized to pay tribute to their former colleague — the incomparable Freddie Mercury. QUEEN were joined by some of the greatest musical talent in the world to celebrate Freddie‘s life and work and to increase public awareness of AIDS, the disease that had prematurely ended his life the previous year.

As well as being great entertainment, the concert raised a huge and still growing sum of money for the Mercury Phoenix Trust, a charity formed at the time by Roger Taylor, Brian May and QUEEN‘s longtime manager Jim Beach whose charter is the relief of suffering from AIDS throughout the world. Profits from this release will be donated by the Mercury Phoenix Trust to AIDS charities around the globe.